Meeker County Board Meeting
The Meeker County Board of Commissioners had a rather lengthy discussion about designating an official newspaper now that the Litchfield Independent Review will be ceasing operations by the end of this month. The Board selected the Dassel-Cokato Enterprise Dispatch for publishing its official notifications.
Property Records, Taxation & Elections Manager Barb Loch presented a list of possible newspapers in the area and their respective publishing costs. They included the Eden Valley-Watkins Voice, the Tri-County News in Kimball, the Paynesville Press, West Central Tribune in Willmar and the Enterprise Dispatch. The Litchfield City Council picked the Enterprise Dispatch as its first choice on Monday night.
Veterans Service Officer Tim Steinert gave his annual report to the Commissioners. He says he sees an average of 16 veterans each day to assist them with the benefits they’ve earned. He says there are two vans in their transportation program and in 2023, the 6 volunteer drivers drove a total of 22,244 miles – transporting 263 veterans to their medical appointments.
The Board approved of a conditional use permit for Albright Landscaping for property at 67460 CSAH 33 in Ellsworth Township in the Lake Stella Shoreland District for a retaining wall; approved of a conditional use permit for Maher Landscaping for property at 61830 193rd Street in Greenleaf Township in the Lake Minnie Belle Shoreland District for a landscaping project; and approved of an interim use permit for a second dwelling for a blood relative for Keith Fortun for property at 26331 CSAH 1 in Litchfield Township.
The Commissioners approved of appointing Jason McCoy to the EDA Board, representing the Grove City area, for a 6-year term; approved of a quote from Marco Technologies for the renewal of the phone maintenance system for about $1,428 per month; and approved of a proposal from AreaSearch Digital Archiving Services to provide digital preservation of historical commissioner minute records, school district boundary book and section corner books as an addition to the existing Meeker County Searchable Archive for $8,478. The Board also approved of a pavement marking contract with KAMCO of Dassel for an estimated total cost of $124,966.40 – with 90% in federal safety funds allocated for this project and the remainder funded by State-Aid Construction funds.